A Strong Man’s Weakness
The Bible tells of a man who was blessed by God, and who had an amazing amount of strength.This man was so strong that he killed a roaring lion with his bare hands, and he killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey! You have probably guessed his name. He was Samson, the thirteenth judge of the Israelites. You can find his story in Judges 13-16. You may remember the story of his great strength, but you may not know about the women who were able to make this strong man very weak.
The first woman was from Timnah. She was a Philistine whom Samson decided he wanted to marry. Samson’s parents urged him not to marry her, because she was not one of God’s people. The Philistines worshipped false gods. Samson made a huge mistake by going against the will of his parents to marry the Philistine woman. Disastrous events, including a big fire and many deaths, came as a result of Samson’s bad choice. One lesson we can learn from Samson’s bad decision is that we must obey our parents and listen to godly advice. Additionally, even while you are young, decide to marry a Christian who can help you go to heaven.
The second woman was a harlot from Gaza. Samson violated God’s law regarding purity by being in the house of this woman. Even though he showed great strength in taking the gates of her city and putting them on a hill, he was paving the way for his enemies to capture him. From this part of Samson’s life, we can learn that we must be very careful not to go to places where it will be difficult for us to do the right thing.
Delilah, from Sorek, was the third woman. The Philistines told Delilah that they would give her money if she could discover the secret behind Samson’s strength. Samson did not go to her house intending to tell her, but she begged him over and over. After a while, he broke down and revealed his secret. She had Samson’s hair cut while he was sleeping, and his strength left him. He then became a prisoner of the Philistines. As we can see in Samson’s life, sometimes the devil can convince us over time that sin is not so bad, and we can become prisoners of sin!
Young girls, remember the powerful influence that these women had over one of the strongest men who ever lived. Decide now that you will encourage people to be great servants for the Lord, not try to keep them from obeying God. Young men, remember that truly strong men are those who are able to do what is right, even in the face of temptation.
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